Ishinomaki Video

Here is the other piece of the video from Ishinomaki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5kez9arYE&feature=channel_video_title

Documentary from Ishinomaki

My friend Ian made a documentary when we went up to Ishinomaki. Here is part one.

http://news.discovery.com/human/after-the-tsunami-to-be-alive-is-enough-110328.html

The video speaks for itself, so I wont comment on it...


If you want to donate directly to this group, here is their link.

http://sunriseministries.tripod.com/id5.html


I've finished working at CRASH, and am going to spend a day and a half with my host family before heading back to work on Friday (I was supposed to spend this whole two weeks with them)... I'm currently at my friend Ian's apartment, hanging out while he is editing the other parts of the video.

I can't believe I have to go back to regular life... it seems so strange when there is so much left to be done here... and I have become part of the relief community here...

Lets keep praying!!!! Our God is good.

Breathe in...Breathe out...

I think I need blog just to process my feelings a bit...

March has kinda been a month from hell... with all sorts of losses (like my favorite teacher getting transferred to another school and some of my students graduating and other friends moving out of the city).

And then my beloved Japan gets hit my a earthquake, tsunami, and is now getting radiated...

And I'm in the middle of trying to help the situation, and am so thankful for getting to help! But have had a ton of responsibility thrown at me, which I am not quite sure I can handle... for example, I am only working with CRASH two more days, and I have been asked to assess and analyze what holes we have in our current way of operating and try to figure out solutions before I go... I guess the guy in charge of our department thinks I'm capable and need to do it before I leave... I think I'm 23 and clueless... but I'll take a stab at it! Please pray that God would give me wisdom and endurance. The office situation has been quite stressful the last few days as we are moving forward; feels kind of like building this organization from the ground up -- given the magnitude of the situation, and there are so many unknowns and so much information to try to process... BUT two of the teams I've gotten to have a part in sending out are leaving tomorrow morning, so that is exciting! The whole thing is feeling a bit overwhelming though. The need is so great...so its scary for me because I feel like if I mess something up it has real consequences on peoples' lives... PRESSURE! AGGHH!!! I'm so willing to keep working tho, its just scary.

I took the day off today, went to church, met up with some friends, took a walk in the park... It was really strange experiencing normal life a bit after so much focus has been on the disaster. There were kids playing soccer in the park. Shibuya (downtown Tokyo) was as bustling as ever. The sun was shining, the plum trees are blossoming. It was really nice to remember that in some places, life is still pretty normal... but in Tohoku, everything is anything but normal... So as my heart craves a bit of normalcy and stability for myself, my heart craves it for Tohoku as well...

Its easy to ask why this happened. Some people are saying its God's judgement on Japan... I think they're morons. Luke 9, a village rejects Jesus, and Jesus' disciples want to call down fire to destroy the city, and Jesus rebukes them... Jesus declares that if we have seen him, we have seen the father. Our Lord Jesus, full of compassion, mercy, grace and love... How much his heart must break for the suffering in Tohoku!!! I'm not saying there will never be judgement, Jesus makes it very clear that there will be on the last day, but I'm pretty sure that is not what is happening now.

I've been spending a lot of time in Romans 8 this past month... read through it if you have time. It makes it so clear that famine, and disaster, and persecution and the like are clearly part of our lives, but we should not despair, because nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. How do we know that God loves us? Because of Jesus. Because of the cross. How do we know that God loves Tohoku? Because of Jesus. Because of the cross. Also, Romans 8 tell of how creation itself is waiting for redemption, because it has been taken down with the fall of man as well.... Redemption--freedom from the bondage to decay... freedom from earthquakes, tsunamis, and even nuclear radiation!

So that's where I am at right now... watching my heart quake a bit as Japan is quaking. But my God is faithful!!!!!

BUT it is almost spring. Spring is a time of new beginnings in Japan. Time for the cherry blossoms to bloom. Time for the new school year to start. Time for chapter two of my life in Japan. Time for a new season for Japan.

Keep praying for those in Tohoku!!!!! I feel pretty selfish even writing this blog, cause it sounds like I am asking for pity, as I am sitting in a warm room in a friends house on a full stomach, and am about to go take a warm bath... And even if I was sitting in mud with my house washed away by a tsunami, I really have everything because I have Jesus. Pray for Tohoku.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (tsunamis and earthquakes included!!), will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38-39

PS. Here is the link to a video the friends I went to Ishinomaki with made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZSD9y4grZ0&sns=fb

There and Back Again：Ishinomaki...

Well friends,

I've gone to the Tsunami area, and come back again. When I was in Mie, I was scared of coming to Tokyo. When I was in Tokyo, I was scared of going to Tohoku. Now that I have gone and come, I feel a bit silly for all of the hype I felt around my trip up north. Don't get me wrong, the situation is just as heart wrenching and dire as I thought it would be, but my part in it is just so small... Now that I've been there I feel so stupid for worrying about myself at all.

Ishinomaki:
Cars tossed around like toys. Cars stacked on top of each other. Cars folded completely around street light poles. Cars in houses. Boats on the tops of roofs. Boats on roads miles inland. Roofs that are no where near whatever house they came from. Mountains of rubble that used to be homes. Feet of mud and sludge covering everything... It's really surreal.

We spent the day yesterday in Ishinomaki, about an hour and a half north of Sendai. Ishinomaki has some of the worst conditions right now. If you go father north, there was less time between the earthquake and tsunami, so there was less time for people to evacuate... meaning that there are a lot less evacuees, because everyone and everything in the coastal towns were washed out to sea. Ishinomaki has thousands of refugees, all living in evacuation centers in schools. Some people are living in the second stories of their homes (while the first stories are filled with mud and debris and cars) because the living conditions in the evacuation centers are not the best... its not home... its dirty and crowded.

We left from Tokyo around midnight with two two ton trucks full of supplies, and a van pack with supplies in the back and people in the front. It was snowing when we left Tokyo, but the weather cleared up as we drove, and we actually had really nice weather yesterday.

We spent the morning driving around different evacuation sights dropping off supplies. I walked into the first evacuation center, and right by the door was a big piece of butcher paper that said "希望" "hope". It was surrounded by notes that people wrote saying things like ”一人ではありません” "we are not in this alone." I unloaded a car load of caned soup with a 6 year old boy Japanese boy who was determined to help with everything. I was carrying out a huge pile of garbage with him later, and he looked at me and smiled and said, "Isn't take out garbage fun!!!" This is a 6 year old boy who is living in an evacuation center who has lost his house, all of his toys, normal life. He definitely taught me a thing or two about attitude!

We spent a lot of the day working at a school clearing the parking lot of all the debris and mud the tsunami left, so that they will be able to get vehicles in to the parking lot, and clean out the school, to use it for the relief effort for the mean time, and so that they can hopefully get the school opened again eventually. You can see the water lines on all the buildings, and in the school you can see how high the water came, because there are pine needles and branches and mud all the way up the the second story.

The people we were cleaning the school with were the TEACHERS! And they were there to clean because they were at WORK! The principal told us to take an hour lunch break, and he told the teachers that they could have Saturday and Sunday off to rest! Its a total disaster zone, and the teachers are still at work! Two of the girls that were cleaning there had just graduated on March 1st. One of the girls house got flooded in the tsunami, but her grandmothers house was ok, so they are staying there. The other girl had the water come right up to the bottom of her house, and then go back out, so their house was undamaged. They girls were both in good spirits. It was interesting talking about their plans for the future... one of them was planning on going to nursing school, but she did know if the school existed anymore. One of the guys I was with is making a documentary, I'll give you the link when its done. We asked the people if they had any message they wanted the wold to know, they said that Japanese people are strong and resourceful, and if we band together with each other, and with the rest of the world, and work hard, we will get out of this.

Despair, however, is seen a lot more among the thousands of elderly who have been affected by the tsunami. They feel like they won't see things restored to normal in their lifetime... and it is going to take years, so they are probably right. :(

Japans defense force 自衛隊 is doing a kick ass job up there! I really respect them！！ Clearing out roads. Cooking meals for refugees. Trucking in supplies. Love those guys!

For those of your who are involved in the relief effort through other organizations, the main thing the evacuees are requesting right now is socks and underwear. The food situation seems to be ok for the moment in Ishinomaki.

Only being there a day, I really felt like I hardly made a dent in anything...there is so much to be done... its going to take years to get this all cleaned up...

I'm sure I will be processing everything that I saw for the next few weeks, if not for the next few months... its pretty intense.

I was back in the CRASH office today. I've finally been able to move from processing and responding to mass amounts of emails and volunteer applications, to actually working with the teams that are getting sent out in the next few days, making sure that we have all their info, and they have all the info that they need to be able to go, so it feels good to be a bit more connected to everything, even while I am in the office.

One of my friends from home is here with a team (they were scheduled to come to Japan before everything went down), and they prayed for me tonight, and I feel like a new person... My God is so good to be and so sweet to me despite all of my shortcomings and failures. His grace is enough for me today. His love is enough for Tohoku.

Please keep praying for everyone in Tohoku! And for the work of Kamizoku, my friends I went to Ishinokai with. And for Crash, as we try to do your best to with this mess of a situation.

PS. Here is the link for some pics from yesterday from my friends camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunriseinternationalministries/
I'm not downloading any till I get back to Yokkaichi, I didn't bring my card reader up here.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Is on her way to Sendai...

Just to put things into perspective for you back home in the US... Japan has suffered five times the devastation as hurricane Katrina. And all of Japan is the size of California.

I woke up this morning to my alarm clock and another earthquake...just another day in Tokyo!

Last night I got a text from my friends that have been running supplies into Sendai that I am on the team to go tonight, and to bring my sleeping bag, cause they were going to have me stay for a while. One of the places they have been dropping supplies said that they could use some volunteers, so I guess that is me! We're taking two two ton trucks, and a van tonight, all packed full of goods. I'm not sure when I will be back, except for in time to go back to work on the 1st, so if you don't hear from me before then, don't worry.

I was a little uncertain about going, cause I definitely don't want to be in this for my own glory, and I wasn't sure if I would be more help staying at the base and working in the office. But today I had a team of 8 working with me in my section of Volunteer Coordination, as we totally finished everything! I got to leave at 5pm instead of 9ish. I'm not sure if I would have much to do if I stayed.

One of my good friends from my YWAM days is working in translation at CRASH, and she pulled me aside to pray for me before I left today. I feel so insufficient to do anything in the face of such great disaster, but she reminded me of WHO MY GOD IS! And who I am as his daughter. Yes, I can bring supplies. But Japan needs so much more than supplies. Japan needs HOPE!! And I have that. I have that for myself. I have that for Tohoku, because of WHO MY GOD IS. Because of Jesus.

I've never experienced destruction like I am about to experience, so please pray that God would strengthen my heart to handle it well, and be able to bring light and hope and not get overwhelmed by the loss and pain.

If you want to check out the website for the crew I'm running with tonight, here are the links.

Japanese:
http://kamizoku.posterous.com/
English:
http://kamizoku.wordpress.com/

Prayer Requests:
For the people in Tohoku
That God would use us as we go!
That we would bring hope and Jesus to those we meet.
Protection as we travel, on the roads, from the nuclear stuff, etc.
Ability to hear God's voice and follow his direction
For the conversations I have with people. That I could bring hope.
Continued generosity towards those who have lost so much.

Nuclear Update:
I haven't been watching the news at all today, but my friends just told me that their is radiation in the tap water in some areas of Tokyo now... not enough to harm adults, but its over the safe levels for small children... but I'm not glowing yet!!!! And honestly, staying here is less radiation that you would get on an overseas flight, so all those who ran are actually getting more than me!!
I have been sorting through the volunteer offers in the CRASH office, and I had one Swiss guy email me today and offer to come trade out one of the workers in the nuclear plant so they could go home to their families. Now that's sacrifice. Makes what I'm doing look like a cake walk.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Crash Command Center: DAY 4 (in progress)

Day 4 since I have been at the Crash Command Center...

Day 11 since the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear issue started...

The news has moved onto Lybia... And my fear is that the world will forget. Forget the 21,000 dead or missing. Forget the 250,000 evacuees. Forget the devastation that has befallen this nation.

Four days after the Haiti quake, 120 million dollars had been donated. Four days after Japan, only 5 million... The world sees Japan as a wealthy country... but loosing everything means loosing everything. 21,000 dead or missing. 250,000 evacuees.

On another note, things are moving along quite well at CRASH. I'm still working in Volunteer Coordination.

I've been spending every evening with a group that is running supplies into Sendai everyday. We gather together at night and pray before they make their nightly run. I'm probably going with on Thursday.

There are cool stories coming back from the field. One story: One pastor drove around and picked up all his church members from their houses in his church van during the tsunami warning, and took them to the church, which was on higher ground. All of their homes were washed away, but they were all ok! CRASH was able to get them supplies, and they were super thankful, cause they have been living in the church with nothing since the tsunami. People are still getting found and rescued, amidst all the death and destruction.

It's been super cool to see how God has networked his people. Crash's media manager walks over and asks me if I can get so and so on the phone, so I pull out my cell, and BAM! I get a call from Germany later that evening, and my friend asks if I happen to know the so and so family (who are running supplies to Sendai), and I say, "yeah, I'm at their house" and pass over the phone." BAM! I've processed a ton of volunteer applications from people I know, and seen a bunch of others walk through the door here. It's totally like one big family!!!

Please keep praying for us!!!!!!!! I'm in the office processing data, trying to find people who have two ton trucks, trying to find people with licenses for the trucks, trying to find teams of volunteers in the area ready to go, trying to respond to the masses of emails we have been getting...etc. So I don't have any exciting first hand stories, but stuff is happening!!!

Please please please PLEASE keep praying and keep donating!!!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS~! <3

Crash Command Center: DAY 3 (in progress)

Well friends...I've made it two day three! And I'm not glowing yet!!

General update on the situation in Japan:

Samaritan's Purse is sending a plane full hundreds of tons of supplies to Sendai Airport. CRASH is sending up vehicles to receive and distribute the supplies.

Nuclear Situation: Yep... its still happening. Keep praying for those working at the plant and those in charge.

They are starting to get electricity to some of the places up north. Sendai has about 60% now.

They just pulled an elderly woman and her grandson out of the rubble of their home after being trapped for 10 days! They got trapped next to the fridge, YAY!

CRASH currently has quite a few teams in the quake/tsunami area, and are in the process of setting up base camps that will serve as centers to base teams and distribute supplies.

The situation is still incredibly dire for those in the evacuation sites. There are miles and miles of lines every time there is a rumor that a convenient store is going to open. There are tons of elderly, families, disabled people, etc, without proper supplies.

Story!!!
I know a family back in the US who has been saving money to re-floor their house for years, and had finally saved the money to be able to do it. The floor is in pretty dire need of being redone. But instead of a new floor, the family donated all of the money to help those who have lost everything...entire homes, their families, their business, hope. PEOPLE! That's what the kingdom of God looks like. That's what it looks like to give till it hurts. That's what it looks like to store up treasure in heaven. Anyone wanna out do them?

ME:
Its my third day working at the CRASH command center. I'm working in Volunteer Coordination, which means I'm currently overseeing a team of 6 other volunteers who are helping me process and sort through people who have volunteered to come help, in order to put together teams to send into the earthquake/tsunami area. Its a bit stressful, and very computer intensive, but almost exactly what I did when I worked at my old job at 3E Company, so thank you Joe Dolan for preparing me for this!!

I've been hanging out with a smaller group in the evenings (not related to Crash) who have been making daily runs into Sendai to truck in supplies. They leave in the middle of the night, arrive in the morning, drop off the supplies and love on people and help out all day, and then drive back at night (in order to not stay their too long and drain supplies, and to come back and pick more stuff up). The pictures and stories are heartbreaking. The same people have been making most of the runs, so they are pretty tired! Which means they are probably going to let some of us women folk make a run on Thursday or Friday. After being in the office 12 hours a day, I think it will be really nice to get my hands dirty.

PRAY FOR US!!!!!!
Efficiency!!
Clarity of thought!!
Protection from radiation!!
Ability to move goods, and info quickly to those who need them!

PRAY FOR JAPAN!!!!!!!!!!!! May many receive help, hope and the LOVE of JESUS!

Crash Command Center: DAY 1 (in progress)

I'm currently in the Crash Command Center, which is packed to capacity with a ton of people working their butts off to see the people in Tohoku taken care of. ITS SOOOO GOOD TO BE HERE!! I feel so much better being here than being in Mie. It feels so right.

What may day has looked like:

Awesome bullet train ride, cuddled up with God and took a really nice nap, and saw beautiful Mt. Fuji covered with snow out the window! God always spoils me with amazing beauty whenever I think I am about to "sacrifice" for Him. :)

Met up with my dear friend Chika at Shinjuku Station and headed over to the Command Center in Higashikurume. We have had a great time catching up, encouraging each other, praying for each other, and crying together.

We roll into the command center, and they have us working within 5 minutes. Chika has been doing translation all day, and I fell into a semi-leadership position in the volunteer coordination department. We're sending out another team of 6 Japanese nationals tomorrow morning, and moving a bunch of supplies, as well as sending in some member from a deaf church in the near future, because there is a group of deaf people at the Sendai evacuation center waiting for them. I have been processing a TON of emails, and helping to devise strategies and plans of actions to manage the influx of requests to volunteer. We're going to have different people coming in to volunteer each day, and because I am here for two weeks, I get to be in charge of them in my little area of the process.

My chances of getting to go to Ground Zero look like -500% right now. But I think its ok, cause I'm actually being really useful here. Getting to draw on a lot of previous work and school experience to make this happen. And they are trying to send in as many nationals as they can to do the relief work, for stints of two weeks at a time, so I'm out on both accounts. (so those of you who are worried about me, be UNworried, cause I'm not going anywhere near the power plant).

Tokyo feels a bit empty, with power outages and closed stores and the like, people are just out and about less. BUT it feels really normal! Everyone is just working really hard to take care of what needs to be taken care of. All of the nuclear freak out feels like such hype now that I am here! No, I haven't melted yet, and no, I am not going to have cancer from this, the levels here are super super negligible.

I got to see a bunch of friends today at the center!!! Nobuko, my translator from when I was in YWAM in 2005, Kevin, my friend from my church in LA who just flew in to help, Paul Nethercott, who works very closely with the Biola film department making films in Japan, and is currently our press manager.

There was a 6.1 quake off of the coast of Fukushima about 30 mins ago. We felt it pretty good here, and their was a brief tsunami warning, but it was taken away rather quickly. PRAISE GOD!!

Prayer requests:
#1 For the people in Tohoku.
#2 For the teams going out
#3 For the nuclear power plant to get resolved. The guy in charge is a Christian, so pray for him!!
#4 The earth to calm down! Earth quakes, weather, etc.
#5 That God would bless and direct the work we do here at Crash.
#6 I'm going to be working 11 hours a day, for the next 11 days, so for stamina and clarity of though! And for my body, cause I will be on a computer most of these hours, and you all know my back sucks...

Tokyo (or Tohoku) or Bust!!!

Hello friends!

As most of you know, most Americans are currently trying to run as far away from Fukushima as they can...

I however, am running the other direction tomorrow morning.

I'm heading up north to volunteer with the organization CRASH, which is currently the only NGO on the ground runny supplies into the incredibly devastated Tohoku region. I'm sure you are all watching the news, so you know very well how dire the situation is.

There is a chance I might be going into Tohoku itself, but for now, it doesn't look likely. The team I was going to go with isn't coming back till April 4th, and I have to work in Mie-Prefecture (central Japan) on the 1st. It looks like I will be working in CRASH's office in Saitama Prefecture (northern Tokyo), helping to coordinate and organize the teams that are being sent in. The office staff is very overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that needs to be done, so hopefully I can be a help.

I feel very strongly that this is what God is calling me to for this season. The verse that I have been given over and over is from Ester, "For such a time as this." God put me in Japan right now, has given me this people to love, and have given me two weeks of spring break. I'll be damned if I sit on my butt here where it is safe because I'm scared of some potential danger when people are dying and there is something I can do about it. Jesus tells us that to follow him we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. He also tells us that if we seek to save our life, we will loose it, and if we choose to loose our lives for his sake, we will find it. To love is to sacrifice, because we are to love as Jesus loved us.

I'm about 500% sure I'll be totally fine. I'm This isn't the first time God has send me into a dangerous area (Beirut in summer '06 etc.), and the question he always asks me, which he asked me again today, is "Will you trust me?" How can I answer anything but "YES! HERE I AM! SEND ME!"

And today was full of assurances that this is what I am supposed to be doing in this season. CRASH told me that they need help, and would love my assistance, but I had to figure out my own housing, because they didn't have time for it. I was planning on going up tomorrow morning, working for the day, and then figuring out where to stay later. However, I got call from one of my friends in Tokyo this morning saying that she heard I was going, and wanted to come with me for the weekend to help. I was so excited to have her come with, but I told her we didn't have a place for us to stay. Later I got a text from her saying a Biola ICS alum that she is friends with lives three stations down from the command center, and we are welcome to stay there. I had to ask my parents permission, of course, and they both gave me their blessing to go. (PROPS TO MY PARENTS! When everyone else's parents are telling them to leave the country, I get permission to get closer to the mess!! MOM and DAD, you are the BEST!!!). I also had to tell my boss I was going to Tokyo...and I was kinda freaking out about it, becuase I was pretty sure she was going to say NO WAY! But she gave me her blessing right away and thanked me for being willing to serve her people. NICE! LOVE MY BOSS! And I've been finding out I'll be seeing more and more of my friends at the headquarters tomorrow than I expected! An added comfort, for such a time as this.

SO in the course of the day, everything has fallen into place! I've got a bag packed full of supplies (the shelves in Tokyo are pretty bare), and a envelope full of money to donate, and I'm on the 6:08 train tomorrow morning!

Some of you might be wondering what you can do...

PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!! Pray for:
*Those in Tohoku who are suffering immensely right now
*CRASH and government relief efforts. Especially for the teams that are currently out in Tohoku. Traveling mercy especially, the only road open takes you 40 kilometers from the nuclear reactor.
*Weather to clear up (they have blizzardish weather up there right now)
*That I would be helpful and effective in the office, or whatever I end up doing. Traveling mercy and safety for me as well. And ability to sleep. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared at all, and my nerves weren't on edge, cause they are. But I am choosing to trust. Pray I would be able to!
*Saturday (Sunday Japan time) many churches in Japan will be fasting and gathering to pray at midnight sat (7pm sunday Japan time). Feel free to join us!

DONATE!!! DONATE!!! DONATE!!!!!!!!!!!
*you can give directly to crash online (the link is on the right of the homepage).
http://www.crashjapan.com/

I encourage you to give until it hurts! I have had friends give me a hundred dollars to take up, and I have had friends give me their pocket change...which they won't even know is missing. GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS! Love requires action! These are PEOPLE we are talking about. I know its hard to believe that this is real, because the situation is so crazy, but each one of the numbers of dead and missing are PEOPLE, and each one in evacuation centers are real PEOPLE. They've had everything taken from them, lets see what we can do to give them HOPE, FOOD, WATER, SHELTER, CLOTHING, COMFORT and LOVE!

I'll try to keep you updated every few days, or before I leave if I am going to Tohoku (which is like 99% probably not happening, I'm pretty sure I will just be in the office the next two weeks).

THANKS FOR STANDING WITH ME ON THIS FRIENDS!!!! Know I love you! And know that are GOD is BIG and GOOD and LOVING, and is going to take care of me, whatever that looks like.

<3